SRAM- A 5 Star Association? (Part 2)

Been a while since my last posting. Here we will take a deeper look into the OCM's questionnaire for all NSA to determine their ratings.

Conducted jointly by the Olympic Council of Malaysia, National Sports Council and National Sports Institute, the panel looked at three areas -- governance, programmes and achievements -- in deciding.

The associations were tasked with answering 124 questions -- the first 57 concerning governance, 34 on programmes and 33 on achievement.

Ok, bear with me as I will actually go through all the questions one by one. Some straight forward questions I will not comment on. The questionnaire has 3 options for answers, Yes, No or Not Applicable.

1. Is the NSA operating under a ratified Constitution? Yes
2. Has the constitution been reviewed in the last 5 years? Yes
3. Are the minutes of all meetings recorded and kept correctly/systematically? Yes, as far as I know
4. Are AGMs held as scheduled? Yes
5. Are other meetings held as scheduled? Yes
6. Are the Annual and Audited Financial Reports kept safely as archives of the NSA? Yes as far as we are have seen
7. Does the NSA have Executive Committee/Council Meetings at least quarterly? Yes, monthly
8. Does the NSA have the following sub-committees?
a. Finance Yes
b. Competition Yes
c. Technical SRAM has a Coaching and Referees Committee.. So ???
d. Development SRAM has a Junior Development Comm only.. So how???
e. Discipline Yes
f. Selection Yes
g. Medical and Anti-Doping Yes
h. Athletes ??? As far as athletes are concerned, they only have players reps. So how?

9. Does the NSA have written SOP to conduct activities of the association? Hmmm.. Not in actual fact. So I will have to say NO
10. Are the roles of Office Bearers clearly defined and documented? NO as never seen any except for those in the Constitution which is quite general
11. Does the NSA have its own office? Yes
12. Does the NSA have at least one full time executive staff? Yes
13. Does the NSA have enough full time staff for its activities and events? Grey area, some says enough while some will say not enough. I say NO
14. Is a Performance Review Process used regularly to assess the output of full time staff? No, because non performing staff are still around
15. Is there a Professional Development Plan for the up-skilling of the Board Officials and full time staff? No, none that I know of
16. Does the NSA have an up-to-date register of all its affiliates and their contact details? Yes if the affiliates are just the states
17. Does the NSA have a Vision and Mission? Sadly I have to admit yes but it is very shallow one
18. Does the NSA possess computer technology for email and other electronic communication? Yes
19. Does the NSA have its own website? Currently yes but at the time of the questionnaire, No
20. Are the contents of the NSA website kept current? Initially yes but now no
21. Does the NSA have any anti doping activities? No, never seen and heard of one
22. Does the NSA comply to WADA's anti-doping policy and activities? Grey area as I have no idea of WADA's policies
23. Does the NSA have an approved Annual Budget? Yes but it for NSC to approve funding
24. Does the NSA have an established procedure and reports on its financial position during EXCO Meetings? I would have to say yes
25. Does the NSA have an updated Inventory Register of all its assets and equipments? I don't know but guess that they have as I have yet to see one
26. Does the NSA have its own Marketing and Promotion Plan? Definate no
27. Does the NSA have a strategy to service the needs of potential sponsors? Yes but sadly it is a poor one
28. Is the NSA able to raise enough funds to support its programmes? No, even worse now that Core Sport program has slashed funding
29. Does the NSA have sustainable sponsorship? Grey area as the CIMB sponsorship is long but not enough to cover areas that need it. Latest sponsorship from Pizza Hut has gone totally to a new glass court
30. Does the NSA monitor the performance of its affiliates and document if they meet their objectives and targets? No, to SRAM, Malaysian squash revolves around the Klang Valley only
31. Does the NSA have a documented strategic plan? This year yes, but previously they had this master plan which was a concept taken from the previous director of coaching many years ago.
32. Does the NSA provide assistance to its affiliates as appropriate? Yes and no. Very grey area as assistance and vary greatly. Currently, SRAM can only provide technical help and help as the governing body of squash in Malaysia and nothing else.
33. If no, has the NSA taken steps to rectify the shortfall? Hahahaha.. Of course not.
34. Has the NSA plans to develop clubs in its particular sport? No, none at the moment
35. Does the NSA possess databases in respect to the number of clubs, players, technical officials, coaches and administrators recorded by area of residence, age groups, gender, level of expertise in the various categories etc? No, this is never up to date and they only have for coaches and players. That also is not everyone as they miss out on a lot.

We will continue in part 3. So far 12 Nos, 4 Grey area and 19 Yes and counting..

Cheers,
Till next time.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Nicol David being bestowed a Datukship which many people has different opinions regarding the issue. To all of us in Penang. you are a deserving receipient of the award. Keep up the good work and continue to bring glory to the country and squash. Well done and best of luck in you upcoming tournaments.